New Order

Touring in support of their excellent new album Music Complete, New Order was in town turning the Shrine Auditorium into a crowed 80’s post-punk/dance club for a couple hours.

The band included three original members, Bernard Sumner, Gillian Gilbert and Stephen Morris, supported by a second guitarist and a bass player taking over Peter Hook’s duties.

Opening with ”Restless”, a cut from their new album, they then followed with a set including most of their classics, along some new material which stood it place among the hits. Singles such as “Bizarre Love Triangle” and “True Faith” delivered a contagious dance-floor vibe while tunes such as “Chrystal” and “Ceremony” brought rougher moments. While I regret they didn’t play my favorite “1963” or their clubby “Fine Time”, they surely delivered chills in the encore with rendition of Joy Division’s “Atmosphere” and “Love Will Tear Us Apart” before closing with “Blue Monday”.

It should be said that you don’t approach a New Order gig with the same expectations as if you were going to a Depeche Mode show for example. New Order’s performances are known to be flawed, mostly because singer Bernard Sumner struggles to sing some songs live, which did happen last night. His dorky dance moves are also amusing but it’s easily forgiven and all part of the unabashed fun of experiencing New Order’s catchy electro-pop anthems live.

New Order in concert at the Shrine Auditorium

New Order’s Bernard Sumner

New Order Live in L.A. in 2016

1 Comment

Rich Huffman
March 21, 2016

LA show was amazing, had to laugh when the band walked out everybody stood and the woman behind me said don’t stand. Nobody sat down the rest of the show, if you did, you are not alive, I could have danced all night, three decades and they are still the greatest dance band on the planet.